Ex Leaf Peter Holland Retiring
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colchar
Registered User
- Apr 26, 2012
- 7,985
- 1,857
TMLeafer
Rest in Peace Johnny Bower
Dude made the NHL and played 250+ games. Most of them with his favourite team. No shame in that, good luck to him in retirement!
The Iceman
Registered User
- Sep 22, 2007
- 5,348
- 4,069
He was a co host of leafs Lunch on a few occasions...he is pretty good behind the mic
It was just nice reading his take as a proud Leafs fan/player. Loved when he brought up the purple seats. Greys if you remember the gardens
Menzinger
Kessel4LadyByng
Always seemed like a smart guy. Appreciated the honesty of his retirement thread - nice to see a player go out on his own terms especially when the love of the game has gone rather than stick it out for another joyless season or two.
Best of luck to Peter
Best of luck to Peter
Stephen
Moderator
- Feb 28, 2002
- 83,103
- 62,020
Yeah for some reason I thought he was already on that media path that ex-Leafs like Carlo Colaiacovo, Jeff O'Neill, Frankie Corrado and Mike Johnson have taken. Didn't realize he did the KHL circuit as recently as last season or was in Sweden this year. He's a good story teller and a nice guy so hopefully he has a future in that and we hear from him now and again.
It's tough when you see a player leave like that. Giving up what he once used to love
Like many players Peter Holland can't really say he left everything on the ice. He always left you wanting more. If he had only used his size and his skating, he could have maintained a career in NHL. Even as a shut down guy or bottom 6 role. Same with Freddy Goat, there's a role for them in NHL with their skills, just matter of really wanting it more than others. They always seemed to lack the hunger
None the less, I wish him a good retirement. He had a good kick in the can and hope that he can continue something related to hockey. Mike Jhonsson became one of the best color commentator of the game. Peter always seemed to smart to me and so well spoken
Like many players Peter Holland can't really say he left everything on the ice. He always left you wanting more. If he had only used his size and his skating, he could have maintained a career in NHL. Even as a shut down guy or bottom 6 role. Same with Freddy Goat, there's a role for them in NHL with their skills, just matter of really wanting it more than others. They always seemed to lack the hunger
None the less, I wish him a good retirement. He had a good kick in the can and hope that he can continue something related to hockey. Mike Jhonsson became one of the best color commentator of the game. Peter always seemed to smart to me and so well spoken
ChickenMcNugget
Registered User
I remember him mostly for salvaging that florida game where both ther goalies got injured and we still almost lost lol.
Did a lot for the community, will remember him fondly.
Cheers on his next endeavour.
Did a lot for the community, will remember him fondly.
Cheers on his next endeavour.
Not often you get a heartfelt honest take like that. Kudos to him for saying and admitting that leaving his hometown team sucked the life out of him. Further kudos for stepping away from it all and putting his family, mental health and future to the forefront. Not easy when you can be making the money you can, even at the base salary.
He sounds like a lot of kids who end up disliking the sport and commitment to it. Not many of whom though cut the cord like he has.
Lots of respect for his honesty, and wishing him the best and much happiness in retirement. Well, from hockey at least — he has so much more life to live.
He sounds like a lot of kids who end up disliking the sport and commitment to it. Not many of whom though cut the cord like he has.
Lots of respect for his honesty, and wishing him the best and much happiness in retirement. Well, from hockey at least — he has so much more life to live.
:format(webp)/https://www.thestar.com/content/dam/thestar/sports/leafs/2022/04/22/ex-leaf-peter-holland-traded-hockey-for-crypto-and-found-a-home-on-the-other-side-of-bay-street/rpj_holls01.jpg)
Former Leafs player traded hockey for crypto and found a new home on the other side of Bay Street
“Playing in Toronto was the pinnacle.” No longer feeling passion for hockey, Peter Holland walked away from the game and found a new one in Bitcoin.
In fact, after playing his final professional game with famed Stockholm-based club Djurgårdens in December, Holland felt at peace. He’d executed his own departure from the team and never seriously considered uprooting his young family to another country in order to continue playing.
Unlike many of his peers, he was ready to face a life beyond hockey.
Holland had fulfilled a promise to his parents by completing a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration adjacent to his playing career. That saw him attend classes at the University of Guelph while playing for the OHL’s Storm and Ryerson University while a member of the Leafs, before eventually finishing it remotely through Southern New Hampshire University.
“I chipped away at it for what seems like an eternity,” he said.
Graduating in 2021 as a President’s List honours student with a 3.9 GPA, Holland felt ready to begin a new chapter and enter the business world. It coincided with a waning interest in hockey and his 15-game stint with Djurgårdens that didn’t go the way either he or the team had hoped.
Holland had also been developing a strong interest in cryptocurrency and was devoting increased amounts of time to research after initially being skeptical of the marketplace. His journey down the so-called “rabbit hole” started when a friend passed along an article that piqued his curiosity and began to shift his thinking.
“I opened the link he sent me and I started doing a little bit of reading. That reading led to more reading,” he explained. “And before I knew it, I was consuming everything I could, listening to a variety of podcasts, watching YouTube videos, reading every article I could get my hands on, and following leaders in the space on social media.
“Ultimately I started to understand the utility behind Bitcoin, and our transition as a whole into digital money.”
This led him to pursue a job with Satstreet, a Toronto-based crypto exchange that prides itself on a top-shelf customer experience. After returning home from Sweden, it wasn’t long before Holland was hired as a business development executive.
Now he’s living a life that bears no resemblance to the one he left behind, commuting downtown on the GO Train each weekday and remaining glued to his phone at all hours.
That speaks to the passion Holland has for his new pursuit.
He says that Bitcoin wasn’t a popular topic of conversation around any of the dressing rooms he played in and he hopes to help educate pro hockey players who are curious about investing in it. He suspects some are already involved in the space even if they haven’t been as open about it as NFLers Saquon Barkley, Russell Okung and Odell Beckham Jr., who have each taken some of their salary in the cryptocurrency.
“Bitcoin makes a splash, right? So maybe that’s part of the reason for not talking about it,” said Holland. “Hockey players are typically pretty reserved when it comes to their finances.”
He would appear to be the perfect conduit between the two worlds after a 266-game NHL career and time spent in the AHL, KHL and SHL.
Oh man, I disagree heavily with the Freddy the Goat take.
The guy gave up on HARVARD - a school that doesn't give out athletic scholarships, to play in the NHL. He never should have been drafted 1st but that's the fault on the GM for picking a guy who NHL central scouting had pegged as a Bottom 6 forward as a ceiling just because he was big. Remember, this same regime once traded up for Tyler freaking Biggs.
Then while playing in the AHL, he broke his leg, missed a year and spent his rehab improving his skating. The Goat was nowhere near an impactful NHL player but he definitely did as much as he could to make a mark in the NHL. He just wasn't talented enough.
Holland had talent but I don't blame him for losing motivation. The business of sports can sour a lot of people on their love for the game.
SeaOfBlue
The Passion That Unites Us All
- Aug 1, 2013
- 35,591
- 16,777
Former Leafs player traded hockey for crypto and found a new home on the other side of Bay Street
“Playing in Toronto was the pinnacle.” No longer feeling passion for hockey, Peter Holland walked away from the game and found a new one in Bitcoin.www.thestar.com
In fact, after playing his final professional game with famed Stockholm-based club Djurgårdens in December, Holland felt at peace. He’d executed his own departure from the team and never seriously considered uprooting his young family to another country in order to continue playing.
Unlike many of his peers, he was ready to face a life beyond hockey.
Holland had fulfilled a promise to his parents by completing a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration adjacent to his playing career. That saw him attend classes at the University of Guelph while playing for the OHL’s Storm and Ryerson University while a member of the Leafs, before eventually finishing it remotely through Southern New Hampshire University.
“I chipped away at it for what seems like an eternity,” he said.
Graduating in 2021 as a President’s List honours student with a 3.9 GPA, Holland felt ready to begin a new chapter and enter the business world. It coincided with a waning interest in hockey and his 15-game stint with Djurgårdens that didn’t go the way either he or the team had hoped.
Holland had also been developing a strong interest in cryptocurrency and was devoting increased amounts of time to research after initially being skeptical of the marketplace. His journey down the so-called “rabbit hole” started when a friend passed along an article that piqued his curiosity and began to shift his thinking.
“I opened the link he sent me and I started doing a little bit of reading. That reading led to more reading,” he explained. “And before I knew it, I was consuming everything I could, listening to a variety of podcasts, watching YouTube videos, reading every article I could get my hands on, and following leaders in the space on social media.
“Ultimately I started to understand the utility behind Bitcoin, and our transition as a whole into digital money.”
This led him to pursue a job with Satstreet, a Toronto-based crypto exchange that prides itself on a top-shelf customer experience. After returning home from Sweden, it wasn’t long before Holland was hired as a business development executive.
Now he’s living a life that bears no resemblance to the one he left behind, commuting downtown on the GO Train each weekday and remaining glued to his phone at all hours.
That speaks to the passion Holland has for his new pursuit.
He says that Bitcoin wasn’t a popular topic of conversation around any of the dressing rooms he played in and he hopes to help educate pro hockey players who are curious about investing in it. He suspects some are already involved in the space even if they haven’t been as open about it as NFLers Saquon Barkley, Russell Okung and Odell Beckham Jr., who have each taken some of their salary in the cryptocurrency.
“Bitcoin makes a splash, right? So maybe that’s part of the reason for not talking about it,” said Holland. “Hockey players are typically pretty reserved when it comes to their finances.”
He would appear to be the perfect conduit between the two worlds after a 266-game NHL career and time spent in the AHL, KHL and SHL.
The main thing with Bitcoin that people really just need to identify is that it is far more volatile than traditional currencies (right now, and almost certainly forever). It is not grounded in any kind of commodity and someone could make or lose millions of dollars in the matter of hours, mostly based on demand. There is no more supply, at least not right now.
Other than that, sure it is fine. It is just probably the riskiest investment you can make right now, and there are absolutely no guarantees that it catches on a wide scale.
Bomber0104
Registered User
SeaOfBlue
The Passion That Unites Us All
- Aug 1, 2013
- 35,591
- 16,777
More or less, but I would argue there is at least some skill involved with most gambling. Even with stocks you can do some research and kind of forecast what is going to happen.
Bitcoin is pretty much pure luck.
I bought bitcoin at a buck just to shut up a friend of mine who was telling everyone to load up. Glad he was obnoxiously persistent.
robertmac43
Forever 43!
- Mar 31, 2015
- 25,561
- 17,785
I always liked Holland when he was with the Leafs. Solid player and seemed like a nice dude. Good luck in retirement!
